Rhythm of the Night
by Ivie Albright
Summary: Remi Peltier is fueled by rage to hide his torment along with the wound in his heart that would never heal. His hatred for the fates knew no bounds, believing that they have damned him. But when he set eyes upon the innocent and gentle human named Charlotte Mason; his animal side knew that she was made for him. But his human heart refuses to believe it.
1. Chapter 1

_**I've always loved Sherrilyn Kenyon and her wonderfully large and expansive series with the Dark and Were Hunters. It took me a while to decide who I wanted to write about, but Remi was my final choice. I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Ivie.**_

* * *

"I am in the mood for a burger, you down?"

Charlotte shrugged as she checked the time on her wristwatch, it was barely the afternoon and she felt like she was melting into a puddle. She had agreed to go out shopping with her roommate even though she wanted to stay in the sanctuary of her air conditioned apartment. Sure she sported the high waisted shorts and the band t-shirt but it was her body that made her look sweaty and haggard. Anna was a local born and raised with perfect Cajun genetics along with an adorable French-Southern accent. Perfect for this climate as she walked the streets looking flawless.

Charlotte felt she wasn't meant for Louisiana, no, she was meant for the cold high mountains wearing warm leggings and sweaters with a hot mug of tea in her hands. Not sweltering humidity and bugs up the _wazoo_! Not to mention her skin was slippery from the sweat mixed in with the ridiculous amounts of sunscreen she puts on every day. Pale skin and New Orleans, not a good combo.

"Ah, Sure" Charlotte looked at Anna with a raised brow, her friend and roommate was an avid athlete with a scholarship to New Orleans university and a pension for eating healthy. Mentioning she wanted a burger was weird.

"Have you been to Sanctuary?" Anna asked with a expectant smirk as the crossed the street towards the start of the French Quarter. Various types of music graced the air as they maneuvered the streets of tourists, performances and booths.

Charlotte had heard of Sanctuary since her move here a couple years back and even passed by it a couple times on the other side of the street, she never had the chance (or courage) to go because she had heard various rumors about that place. On the plus side she heard that it was freaking McHottie Central where all the single girl's gathered to get a piece of the guys that worked there, otherwise she heard it was a ruthless biker bar.

"No but we can go" Charlotte shrugged as the neared the centuries old brick building, a sign with a full moon rising and a traditional harley on a hill greeted them along with heavy metal. A row of varying harley's sat gleaming in the high afternoon sun. There wasn't anyone at the door as they entered the cool, somewhat welcoming environment of an air conditioned restaurant.

Inside was busy with afternoon lunch takers, it was clean for being a biker bar with a splash of rustic and homey. A sign told them to seat themselves and they took one of the tables nearest to the bar. Charlotte ignored the funny looks she received as she sat down.

She had grown use to the stares, at the tender age of thirteen, her hair had began to grey prematurely. Because of it, for all of her teenage years she endured funny expressions, whispers and blatantly rude comments. Finally growing tired of trying to fix it, she had a colorist make the rest of her hair match her grey roots and was done with it. Now at twenty-four, she rocked it in long lengths of waves that curled rather charmingly at the ends in a mixture of white, silver and dark grey. However now a days she was more concerned of her pants size than her hair color, one of Anna's ex college friends called her fat and old.

She would be lying if she said that it didn't hurt her one bit. But Anna has been a good friend to her and constantly compliments on the various styles Charlotte puts time into doing everyday. Saying that the silver fox look was a trendy hit.

A young, blonde woman approached their table. She smiled at them warmly as she set down two menus "Hello my name is Amiee, can I get you ladies anything?" she had a beautiful french accent that matched Anna's.

"Yes, I'd like your ice tea," Anna flipped her dark hair back with a smile before her eyes gestured to Charlotte.

"I'd like the tallest glass of water please," Charlotte smiled as Amiee jotted down their order. Giving a quick glance over to Charlotte before giving her a sympathetic glance.

"You looked flushed hon, you okay?" Anna asked as Amiee left to grab their orders.

"I'm just hot still," Charlotte waved her hands in front of her face. She watched Anna's face as she looked to the bar with a not so subtle seductive gaze. Following her gaze to the bar, Charlotte found herself staring at a breathtakingly beautiful man.

Long blonde hair that reached past his shoulders, he was incredibly tall and muscular. He oozed power and masculine sensuality, he worked quietly and efficiently as he organized pint glasses and returning them to their rightful place. As his shoulders moved, his incredibly huge arms rippled and moved under his golden skin. His face looked like it was carved lovingly out of marble, with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline. As if he sensed their stares, he lifted his head to reveal piercing baby blue eyes. He looked at Anna with an incredibly sexy smirk before his gaze shifted to Charlotte, his blue eyes raked over her hungrily, the heat she felt was from her full body blush seemed stronger than the Louisiana heat. He held her gaze for a few moments longer than Anna's, the sexy smirk that was on his face fell. He whipped the towel over his shoulder before he turned and headed to the kitchen doors, opening them forcefully and swung violently.

Charlotte and Anna exchanged confused glances before they noticed Amiee approaching, she gave them an amused look and placed their drinks in front of them. They had barely any time to look at the orders.

"You need more time with your meal choice?"

Picking up their menus they quickly ordered their food, a burger for Anna and Chicken Fingers with a salad side for Charlotte along with a heap of fries to share. Sipping on their drinks to cool down, Charlotte could see the low afternoon lights play on the farthest wall near the pool table. Night time would arrive soon.

Anna leaned in across the table to get closer to Charlotte "O.m.g that guy was totally eye fucking you."

Charlotte scoffed as she felt her blush returning "I wish, remember who holds the longest record of no sex life at this table?"

"Dude, it's not like I am a slut. Besides, I like my men tall and all muscles with brains and that's really hard to come by." Anna flipped her midnight hair back as she noticed another muscled hottie with shoulder length brown hair and a sex on legs gait. They made sexy eyes at each other before Anna returned her attention to Charlotte.

"If he sticks around long enough I might just go home with him," Anna cooed before she sipped her iced tea.

Charlotte felt her eyes roll, sipping at her water as her friend distracted herself from Mr. Sexy and looked at her.

"So how is the weight loss thing going for you?" she asked, actually sounding sincere.

"I am not a size ten yet, but with this splurge I'll probably shoot back to a size fourteen again." Charlotte sighed but Anna reached over and patted her hand.

"Stop it, seriously you can be such a downer about yourself sometimes. I am having a burger and if any of the girls at my sorority saw me here at a biker bar eating a burger they'd have an aneurysm. But bar food is the best food."

With a laugh, Charlotte recalled Anna's ex-sorority sisters. High and mighty with strict diet and social rules. Anna had once told her the story of her first time coming here to Sanctuary. Though she had a blast dancing the night away with the hotties, her sorority sisters had found out and scrutinized her for stooping _so low._

If only they'd humble down and see how this place was swarming with men whose masculine beauty went through the roof and then some. However Charlotte's parents and older brother would greatly disapprove her hanging out here. A Bellevue, Washington native but was sent to New Orleans because her father, mother and brother went to the University here and they were determined to continue the alumni legacy.

She hated it here, she had been accepted at Columbia University in New York to start exploring her career choices, she barely had a talent in the arts except for her violin. Even that stopped in senior year of high school when her dad made an announcement to her entire family that he was sending her off to New Orleans, to "encourage" her to get her bachelor's in business. She, almost quite literally, had to toss that music degree dream out the window. Instead she found herself on a full ride scholarship to New Orleans University on her parents money, though she hated her classes, she didn't think attending to this college was a total waste. New friends, a cool job at a local boutique and a possible future.

"Did you ever hear back from Keith?"

Charlotte looked at Anna who looked at her curiously with an adorable cock of the head. With a laugh she shook her head "Me, date one the fraternity guys from Kappa Sigma? That's a laugh."

Anna rolled her eyes "Just because Hailey called you old and fat in freshman year doesn't mean it should stop you from going out with the guy, I mean seriously."

Before Charlotte could make a witty response there was an incredible crash and some movement as the doors to the kitchen burst open, A dark haired man was struggling with one of the blonde haired hotties. The two in the struggle were very beautiful men and normally any woman would feel hot and bothered by such a fight between two hunks. However something about this fight was different, Charlotte felt a chill go through her body as she watched them fight, it was getting violent fast and they were fighting like animals.

Other people in the bar quickly stood up and moved to break up the fight. their waitress stormed out, shouting at them in mixed English and French. The handsome blonde guy snarled in a way that didn't sound human as the other guy struggled against the guys holding back.

"Wow...that was kinda hot!" Anna gasped, Charlotte rolled at her friend's horny mood. Seriously, this wasn't the time for being hot and bothered.

"Remi" there was a vicious snarl in the blonde woman's thick French accent "I swear I will make you into bear steak if you do not control your temper!"

The man known as Remi glared at his opponent before Charlotte suddenly felt frozen under his gaze. It was the guy from earlier, he studied her for a long moment before he turned and headed for one of the other back doors, he opened and slammed it closed violently and causing Charlotte to jump.

Man...he did have a temper, Charlotte felt herself move closer to Amiee as she muttered to herself in french, waving away all of the other guys. Who quickly left at the sight of Charlotte.

"Hey...ma'am, is everything alright?" she asked, almost flinching when the woman whirled, their lovely waitress Aimee gave her a friendly smile and nodded,

"Yes, everything is under control, you're very kind for asking." she had that soft spoken voice tone that soothed Charlotte.

"Well I am glad, I'll head back to my chair now." she headed back to her table, Anna looked excited in her seat as everything was quickly returned to order.

* * *

Remi didn't understand what came over him when he made eye contact with the silver haired woman as she and her friend sat down at one of the tables next to the bar. He tried to distract his sudden primal need by giving her friend a flirtatious smile, Anna was a frequent regular and one of the few humans who knew the secret about sanctuary because of her "Voodoo sorceress ancestry". She played a low profile when friends came with her, using her acting skills to play the "horny BFF" as she once said.

He felt a foreign pull as he gaze drifted back to her friend.

She wasn't tall nor was she petite, her porcelain skin looked soft and delicate and was flushed pink from the heat of her blush. Her little nose was decorated with a small trail of freckles, Lovely, sooty lashes framed her large eyes and her brows were dark but complimented her complexion. Her face was delicate and sweet and her hair...oh gods he had never seen such beautiful, loose, thick curls of silver and white.

Her scent was what caught him in a trance, she was fully human but she possessed a gentle fragrance of something so feminine that it almost caused his head to spin. He could feel his throat tighten along with the painful lurch of his manhood. Usually he found human women as a passing fancy but this one... he was in a trance.

He hungrily raked his gaze over her body, she was lush and curvy. His hands twitched as he began to daydream about his hands exploring every inch of her beautiful curves. As his gaze flicked up to her face, he met her eyes. Remi felt his breath catch as he stared into beautiful, gem-like eyes of jade green. He had always been a sucker for green eyed girls.

His animal began to rage with a possessive need, she stared back at him with such a gentle innocence that he turned and left for the kitchen. He couldn't look at her without wanting to claim her. Usually he wouldn't bother with holding himself back, if he saw a woman he liked...he take her into the other, sound-proof room and have his way with her quickly. But somehow he knew this girl wasn't just a wham-bam-thank you-ma'am-type.

As he cleared his head of the lustful fog, he began to think of the woman who truly held his heart and not for the woman who sat outside in the dining area, she would only be a passing fancy to him. He gathered the dirty dishes that were waiting for him by the sink and began to wash them, taking his mind briefly off of her. He felt his hand move and hover over his back pocket where he kept his wallet...a treasure was kept inside it.

"Did you see the couple of girls out by the bar?" he heard one of the voices in the kitchen, he recognized one of them as being one of the new panthers in Sanctuary. Immediately his mind went to the silver haired woman, she and Anna were the only one's closest to the bar.

"Hell yeah, I have my eyes set on the pretty dark haired one" another voice growled lustfully

"Go ahead, I was hoping for the silver haired girl anyways!"

Next thing he knew, he was seeing red and he lunged himself at the new panther known as Chance. The whelp had absolutely no chance in winning against a much older Bearswain, they fought into the dining area where Remi began to pound his fist into the whelps face, knowing that it would kill him. There was a massive struggle as he felt himself being pulled away from the young whelp by several others, he let out a feral snarl to Fang, who snarled back. Lucky for the young panther, his sister came storming in and Remi didn't attack her mate who pulled her off.

It was during her angry lecture that he felt his eyes wander from the young panther to the girl at the table, the way she looked at him, his animal instinct sensed her fear of him. Her eyes were wide and she could see that she recognized him. He swore underneath his breath as he turned and headed for the door that lead to the back room, he could feel the door shake underneath his strength as he slammed it.

Remi knew that he would have to answer for his angry attack later, but he didn't understand himself why he felt suddenly so _possessive_ of her, so needful that he so easily let his animal out and attack the whelp. His sister wasn't going to take this so lightly, he certainly wasn't going to talk about it to any other of his siblings. Slowly he felt his anger come to a simmer as he sat himself down, he shoved his hands into his jean pockets as he stretched himself out. From his back pocket he produced his wallet, opening it he pulled a small wallet portrait of a brunette, she looked slyly into the camera. She was beautiful with her long hair, bright blue eyes and creamy skin.

He cursed the fates, he would never stop. They had given the only woman he ever loved to his twin brother, it was as if the vindictive bitches knew it would torture him. Since then, he barely spoke to Becca, he was forced to look at her and his brother constantly. He didn't need anymore pain than he already suffered.

Remi listened as the door opened, he placed the photo back into his wallet as he placed back in it's rightful place in his back pocket. He looked at his sister as she closed the door behind him, she scowled at him as she cocked her hip.

"What has gotten into you," her voice was steady and stern "that boy didn't deserve what you did."

Remi felt his bear snarl at her comment, if he were to be honest he felt that the little panther got what he deserved, and for what reason? He still wasn't sure.

"I won't grovel and ask for your forgiveness Amiee" he straightened in his chair, returning her gaze.

"I had just overheard what the two panther's were planning, it's none of your concern what the boys do with the human women, you know that. They are katagaria and have no other use for them except to have sex with them. And I sure hell know that Anna wouldn't mind."

His hands balled into fists until his knuckles turned white, he had smelled no other man on the silver haired woman's skin. She was untaken but for some reason... the thought of another male's scent on her spiked his boiling anger.

Amiee studied her brother, all her life she had to deal with all of her brothers violence and frankly her patience was stretched thin when she was a child. Remi was definitely the source of a lot of the outburst. However frustrating this was, she saw his expression when she mentioned the human girls. It was raw and primal, incredibly possessive.

She knew that look on anyone, her mate Fang was like that and so was Dev with his mate Sam. It wasn't the first time an Arcadian mated with a human. Nor would it be the last.

"Once you have calmed you may return to work, I have instructed the panther to stay out of your way for the rest of the day." she left him to the confines of the backroom. She didn't want to deal with one of her stupid brothers anymore.

Charlotte was dipping her chicken fingers into her ranch when she saw the scary blonde guy emerge, a white towel rested over his shoulder. She could feel her heart accelerating at the sight of him, she wasn't sure if she was scared of him or the thought of him being near thrilled her.

This time he ventured much closer, wiping down empty tables and rearranging chairs. Most of the crowds had left after the fight but Anna insisted that they stayed, she wasn't going to leave without her Sanctuary burger, and when they had brought it out, Charlotte knew that the food was worth the stay.

She hoped for a distraction and she almost shoved the entire chicken strip in her mouth. Anna could see her glare of disapproval in mid chew of her chicken.

"Would you just calm down?" Anna whispered, "he's not going to bite, trust me I've been here enough times to know that he's not going to bite. Even if he did, it wouldn't be hard." She added a wink to that last bit.

Charlotte swore that she could see a ghost of a smirk on his face, he had heard her. He looked up and quickly Charlotte got up,

"I'll be back... Gonna use the ladies room." She bolted for the bathroom doors on the other side of bar.

Anna turned her gaze to Remi with a frown, he watched Charlotte leave, not missing the fact that he was staring blatantly at her behind.

"You scaring my friend Bearswain? because if you are, I am going to neuter you."

Remi unleashed a feral snarl at her threat but she merely dismissed it with a wave of her hand, she was used to it, she may be human but she had magic and right now he wasn't in the mood to deal with that.

"How come I've never seen her before?" he asked, dropping the towel on a spare table as he placed his hands on the surface. Anna smirked,

"Because I know one of you Ursaline's would've turned her into a naughty girl, I can't have that. She's one of my good friends and she is a total sweetheart, she deserves only the best guy ever."

Somehow that struck a nerve "are you saying we're not good enough?"

"No," Anna rolled her eyes "I am saying that Charlotte is the type of girl who needs a man who is the sweet, caring, romantic, husband type. Not the Bang n' Go type."

Charlotte...so that was her name. It was elegant, he wanted to say her name out loud and see how it rolled off his tongue, his thought ventured back to watching her walk briskly to the bathroom. His mouth had gone dry as her hips swayed hypnotically to an invisible rhythm.

 _Those hips are made to be massaged and held as I make love to her from behind..._

He stopped right there, make love? No way, he only did that to one person only and she was mated to his brother. Damn the Fates.

"Are you seriously fantasizing about her right now?" Anna's voice cut through his thoughts, he gave her an evil smirk and she slapped his arm.

"Don't be gross Remi, I'm already setting up a date with a guy at our college."

Remi raised a perfect brow, he did not like the sound of that "what does this dude got on me?"

"Wealthy family, going to be a Lawyer, he loves art and music and seems genuinely interested in Charlotte."

"So a pretty boy?"

"Fuck off Bear." she hissed before she returned to eating her burger.

 _Get a grip on yourself Charlotte Jean Mason, just finish your food and go. You're_ _ **definitely**_ _not his type anyways._

After washing her hands (even though she didn't go to the bathroom) she returned to the restaurant and quickly navigated to her table. There was no sign of Mr. Hunky and Sexy so she relaxed.

"So Lottie, I am gonna try and set up a date with Keith" Anna said with confidence as she took a fit full of fries and put them in her basket.

Charlotte tried not to snort "I didn't get a call back from him though."

Anna smiled "Don't worry dollface, he'll come back wanting your silvery-goddess self."

 _Right, when pigs fly and I become the first female President of the U.S_

Amiee came up with a tray as she set down their bill and the girls picked up their respective checks and handed it back with their cards. Charlotte smiled at Amiee who returned the gesture before she left to settle their bills.

When Amiee returned, she handed their booklets back to sign... only Charlotte looked back up Amiee, there wasn't a receipt, "Why isn't there a check here?"

Amiee gave her a smirk and a wink "Someone really likes you hon."

Someone paid for her meal... and she didn't know about it? That has never happened to her before, she felt herself blush and her heart beat quicken as she scanned the room. She saw a whole bunch of people fill the bar so it was hard to tell who did this. She looked to Anna who was looking just as perplexed as she was. She took out the slip of paper and opened it, it was written in french.

"Well...tell them thank you." she said as she pulled a ten dollar bill and gave it to Amiee, who took it with an appreciative smile.

Charlotte gathered her things and she watched as Anna went off to talk to one of the boys for a moment, Anna may be on a full ride scholarship as an athlete with straight A's. But she also had a sexual appetite Charlotte could only dream of, her friend was beautiful and the men who watched her approach gave her all smiles.

She sighed wistfully as she waited for her friend, shouldering her purse. Not paying attention to the sexy hunk of a body approaching her, only last minute did her eyes meet with the piercing blue ones she recognized, almost leaping out of her skin as she stepped aside.

"Whoa, I, um didn't see-" she stopped, her voice constricted as she studied his face. From far away he was hot but up close, he was smokin'. His poor shirt was straining to constrict those powerful muscles of his incredibly broad chest, he was staring down at her...rather heatedly. She had never felt so small next to someone in her entire life.

Charlotte gulped, she could hardly breathe and her heart pounded. Her brain had betrayed her and erased basic vocabulary. Why was he looking at her like that? It must've been her expression, but he smirked.

"You enjoy the food?" his voice was deep and his accent thick in such a delicious way...

"Oh! Yes, it was the best I've had!" Charlotte smiled, she lifted her hand and extended it. Even though she knew his name, he didn't know hers "I'm Charlotte."

"Remi." he hesitantly raised his own hand, Charlotte shook it with a small smile. "Nice to meet you Remi."

It took all of his willpower to not close his eyes in bliss as she spoke his name, the feel of her small, soft hands touching his own. Her hands were small and frail compared to his massive "paws." Her smile met her beautiful green eyes, they quickly ended their friendly shake of the hands before she let go. The hand that touched his raised up to hair and brushed back silvery locks over her shoulder. Remi wanted nothing more than to bury his hand and face into her hair and inhale her scent. His suddenly, hopelessly enamoured feelings were beginning to piss him off.

"A pleasure...Charlotte." her name rolled off his tongue like sweet honey, damn what was with this woman and her allure?

"You ready Lottie?" Anna asked as she approached her friend and didn't bother to look at Remi, Charlotte nodded as she allowed her friend to escort her out of sanctuary.

"Oh, bye Remi!" Charlotte waved to him as she was pulled out the bar. Disappearing from view.

There was a beat of a pause before a low whistle caught his attention from behind. Remi slowly turned his head to look at his twin, Dev, who watched the door with him.

"So, finally someone other than Becca had caught your attention?" He murmured low, Remi unleashed a growl which Dev returned in kind.

"Boys!" Amiee snapped from two tables down, she began to lecture Remi in French but he shrugged it off. He leisurely walked back to the kitchen with a strange smile on his face.

He was definitely seeing Charlotte again.

Anna sighed as she read the note that Charlotte's mystery admirer left instead of her bill.

"It just says 'lunch on me' in French." She knew who wrote this and it irritated her. She had never liked Remi, his temper was always so foul and just rubbed her the wrong way in general. Besides, she preferred the Dark-Hunters for her bed mates because they actually acted a little more human.

Anna wished she could tell Charlotte the truth but knew that the consequences would be high if she did. She was one of few humans to be let into this secret world, and quite frankly, she was glad it was staying secret. She hated lying, she wanted someone she knew and trusted on the inside with her. But she knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"I wonder if it was Remi..." Charlotte mused just as the rounded the corner to their avenue.

"Don't stress it," Anna shrugged "you got a free meal, enjoy it!"

"I guess you're right." Charlotte sighed

She liked the attention she got from that guy, it was the first time she actually felt... Attractive in a long time. But, she knew that it wasn't real, he was probably looking for a quick lay and she'd never see him again.

 _Best to stay away from that place then._


	2. Chapter 2

_**YIIIKES. Okay, so... I haven't updated in a while due to some personal stuff but here we are. It's more of a transitional chapter but lemme know what you guys think.**_

 _ **Cheers! Ivie**_

* * *

 _ **(One Week Later)**_

Charlotte wasn't paying attention to her mandatory economics class, her gaze was to the window as she watched the wispy clouds float by on this bright and sunny Louisiana day. Usually her thoughts and feelings would be neutral, thinking about how many calories her dinner that night would be or if her mother would call and complain about how Charlotte doesn't a boyfriend, lost any more weight or has an internship lined up just yet.

Nope. Her thoughts were to her date tonight, later that night after Sanctuary, Keith from the fraternity had called back and asked if she wanted to join him dinner. She agreed but she didn't feel as...excited about it as she should. Luckily Anna was going to help her look good tonight before her date. Well...her friend's exact words were,

" _I am gonna transform you into the greek goddess of love herself, he'll be enchanted by your charm!"_

Charlotte felt the dark clouds of doubt in her mind, maybe it was a pity date or did Anna threaten him? If he actually was interested, she knew she would have to thank Anna a million times.

Finally Charlotte's day ended and she felt her stomach twist and flutter with her nerves, the last time she went out on a date was when she was a Junior in High School and it was a total nightmare, the guy was a prick and had revealed in the end that he was only interested in the easy sex. There was no way Charlotte was going to let that happen again, it crushed her and she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle it again.

 _I won't let anyone take advantage of me again!_ She swore to herself as she left her economics hall on the Campus. She needed to head home to shower before her so called "big date".

Quickly she escaped the comforts of the air conditioned building, making a dash across the dry and thirsty lawns to the long line of cars that sat baking under the heat. Dreading the car ride home, Charlotte approached an haggard looking Honda Civic, shed have to sit in the hot as hell car for most of her car ride home before the A/C would work. Luckily, Charlotte knew that shower and a tall drink of ice water would do the trick to liven and restore her heat weary spirits.

After fumbling for her keys and tossing her book bag into the passenger seat, her car started with a pathetic sputter before she was on her merry way back home to her apartment, driving through the insanity Charlotte lovingly called New Orleans. Her car was hot, she was sweating and miserable about the idea of going on a date.

The man's face that she had met at Sanctuary popped into her head again, she groaned and tried to stay focused on the road. He was, without a doubt, the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life and she just couldn't shake him. She mumbled to herself as she imagined him laughing at her; she was drenched in ungodly amounts of sweat and driving her old car. While she loved her car and took great care of it, she knew that it wasn't a attractive sight.

Finally arriving home, she parked her car in its designated, shady spot and b-lined for her the stairs that lead to her apartment. Hurriedly she opened the door and was greeted with cool air, she exhaled loudly as she slammed the door closed behind her, her skin relishing in the cool air that kissed it.

"Hey hot stuff." Anna catcalled from the kitchen, "ready for your date?"

"Hardly." Charlotte grumbled, kicking off her sandals before she entered the living space. Tossing her bag on the couch before entering the kitchen, Anna was standing at the counter, looking bronzed, toned and beautiful as ever in her expensive workout clothes. Her dark hair pulled into a high ponytail and drinking some protein smoothie, she gave Charlotte a silly kissy face as she entered the room.

"You look thirsty babe, did you bring your water bottle?" she asked as Charlotte grabbed a glass from the cabinet.

"Oh yeah. But I am gonna need to carry those giant Arrowhead jugs around to keep me hydrated from sweating so much." Charlotte joked as she headed for the fridge.

"You have to keep refilling it silly," Anna snickered, Charlotte pulled out the water pitcher and poured the water to the glass brim before bringing it to her lips. Gulping down that cool, sweet water as if she had been crawling the desert for weeks.

Finally taking a breath, Charlotte looked to her friend and smiled "Sorry, I don't think of those things I guess."

Anna rolled her eyes but her smile remained "anyways, you might wanna start getting ready. Did Keith tell you what time he was picking you up?"

"Yeah, at seven."

"Oh good, you have plenty of time. Shower first then we'll find an outfit and I'll do your hair and makeup." Anna was giddy as she spoke, grinning from ear to ear.

"And if you follow my advice, it'll guarantee a third date or something else."she winked suggestively.

 _Oh lord._ Charlotte thought to herself "I hope so, it better be foolproof or we'll have some words girlfriend."

Anna giggled as Charlotte headed out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom to shower.

* * *

Remi was staring at his phone, his eyes narrowed at the text he had received a few days ago, he had sent the Voodoo witch Anna a text about her friend Charlotte and all he got as a response was," _ **Not happening."**_

He knew Anna couldn't stand him and frankly, he couldn't stand her. But her friend, the silver haired woman named Charlotte has been haunting his thoughts since that day. Her flawless porcelain skin and big, green eyes enticed ideas he shouldn't be having, and it bothered him so much. He could still remember her scent; it was light and delicate, he wanted to smell her again.

Today was his day off, usually he would shut himself away in his bedroom and do some reading, and sometimes he would go out with fellow were hunters like himself. But lately his sister has been on his ass about the people he chooses to hang out with, she thinks he is running with a "bad crowd."

But tonight he decided to mix it up, he would explore on his own, mingle with the crowds and see what he could find to peak his interest... and distract him. Now only was this Charlotte bothering his mind but his other twin, Quinn, was in town and that only meant one thing.

Rebecca was too.

Remi couldn't bare to see her, not while another woman was on his mind. Guilt tore through him like a dull blade, he knew that she still harbored some feelings for him but Remi had made the choice to walk away a long time ago. And it still hurts.

He couldn't be around them while they were here, Remi had been sidestepping and avoiding his brother and Rebecca all day. He needed to get out for a while, to get some space to breathe. Maybe he'll run into a beautiful woman and have a fun night with her. But he still had some time before the sun was down, he would sleep some more before heading out. Setting his phone down on the nightstand, Remi closed his eyes and tried to close his eyes.

The image of Charlotte looking up at him with that shy smile seemed to burn into his eyelids, he could recall that moment clear as day and he had no idea why. Why this human suddenly had a hold on him like this, it made no sense. The only other woman who had this affect on his was Rebecca and frankly, it just fucking pissed him off.

Pushing the image away from the forefront of his mind, Remi began to meditate and hopefully, he'll get some sleep before his night out.

* * *

The Doozy was a new restaurant and bar near the thumping heart of the New Orleans French Quarter, it had a hip modern vibe mixed with traditional cajun. Jazz played in the air from the speakers, setting in a festive mood. However, Charlotte wasn't feeling so festive, in fact, she was a agitated ball of nerves. Her date Keith was standing next to her as they waited to be seated at a table, she could see his foot tapping in time with the music, she gave him another glace and he looked down at her. He was tall, tanned and cute with a bright smile with short hair that was styled. He wore a casual look of blue striped button up with khakis and a blue belt, very pretty by most standards.

Charlotte sported a black floral dress and a casual denim jacket with sandals to beat the heat, her hair pulled into a loose side braid with curled pieces that framed her face. Everything about her look was done by Anna, who had a nightmare of a time looking through Charlotte's messy closet. The dress she wore was a little tight around the bust but nothing she couldn't handle, it had a flowing skirt that reached her knees which made her feel more comfortable.

"You okay?" Keith asked, breaking her from her own thoughts, she looked up at him. He was gazing curiously at her, she gave a quick nod and smile.

"Oh yeah, I'm just...thinking of what to eat, I haven't had anything since this morning. You know, with back to back classes and all." she babbled, then suddenly feeling awkward.

 _Way to go Charlotte, making an awkward mess of yourself._

"Oh yeah, I feel you!" he agreed "Sometimes I forget to eat myself."

Charlotte gave a wobbled smile, her hands began to wring the handles of her small purse, she double checked the interior of her purse, making sure she still had her wallet, phone and keys. She wasn't going to let herself suffer from embarrassment if she forgot any of those things.

"Keith?" the hostess called, her big eyes scanning the group of people that were waiting by the front door.

"Oh, here!"

The petite hostess smiled and gestured for them to follow, Keith looked to Charlotte and gestured her to follow. She obliged and followed the hostess to a two person table by the side of the window, they would be able to see the passerby's and see the French Quarter transform into its night life persona.

Taking their seats, the hostess placed the menu before them before she asked if she could bring them anything. For now Charlotte asked for some water while Keith requested a Gin and Tonic. When the hostess left them, Charlotte averted her gaze to the menu as she pretend to casually browse it.

"So," Keith started "How are you?"

"Oh, um" Charlotte set down the menu "I am doing great actually...you?"

"Good, good. Law school is definitely a challenging field, however, I am feeling pretty confident that I am going to graduate and take the bar as planned."

"Oh, that is awesome." Charlotte forced a smile "what made you decide to be a lawyer?"

"my father is one." Keith explained with a bit of pride "And I am going to take over his practice, plus I have always wanted to be one ever since I was a little boy. I already have great ideas to strengthen the firm."

"Thinking ahead is a great thing to do." Charlotte supported but she felt that it wasn't sincere, she couldn't help but feel how nervous she felt. She wiped her sweating palms by trying to make adjustments to her skirt, she almost wanted to shed her denim jacket but she didn't feel comfortable with that idea just yet.

"I am glad you agree!" Keith beamed "so, how are your studies going, are you still going for that business degree?"

"Yeah I am... I might take a couple of extra credit courses in the music department, I play violin so I thought I'd brush up my skills on that."

"Oh, that's cool." his response was short and he looked down to his menu, completely uninterested in what she had to say.

Suddenly feeling self conscious, she looked down at her menu once more. They began to make small talk about the menu and of the restaurant. the conversation seemed to feel stagnant. Charlotte found herself more listening as he talk about himself and his budding career, she could barely get a word in. Not feeling much of an appetite when the waitress came by, she ordered a small plate of food appetizer while Keith got some seafood entree.

Charlotte wanted to leave and go home, seeing that this date wasn't going anywhere. Whatever charm Annie tried to wave over her wasn't working and she started to feel even more anxious, her mind was working against her as she started to think critical thoughts of herself.

 _Maybe I am just not good enough for anything..._ The depressing thought popped into her mind and she began to feel frustrated, she hated feeling this way, this uncertain about herself.

After what felt like an eternity, Keith had excused himself when his phone began to ring. He proceeded to leave the table to go outside and talk to whoever it was, Charlotte could feel some sort of relief but she felt bothered by the fact that he needed to take a phone call during their date. So proceeded to take out her own phone and browse her social media, hoping to find something that would perk her up.

Remi had decided to check out the new restaurant 'Doozy" to see what kind of competition Sanctuary was up against, parking his motorcycle in front of the restaurant. He proceeded to march up the two steps to the door, people were already moving aside to let him pass. Opening the door, he began to make his way towards the bar for his first drink of the night, hoping they might make him something good. And already he could sense curious eyes upon him, he never went anywhere without some female gaining interest in him.

And that when it hit him, that light and delicate smell that he had been wanting to smell again since the first day he had met her. Unwanted excitement welled up in his chest as his eyes scanned the area for her, it didn't take long till she found her sitting alone at a table meant for two, she was on her phone and did not see that he had walked in.

As if his legs were moving on their own, Remi slowly made his way over to her. She still did not notice her approach even when he was close enough, removing his sunglasses, he studied her for a moment before he felt her name on his tongue.

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte nearly jumped out of her skin when her name was called and in a matter of two seconds she was nearly overcome with shock at the sight of who it was that had approached her. It was Remi, that sexy as hell guy from that bar called Sanctuary. Flustered, Charlotte nearly knocked over her chair when she stood up.

"Remi, hi!" she squeaked, her heart was racing a million miles an hour and her body was heating up and she could feel a blush blooming in her cheeks.

"H-how have you been?" she asked, almost stumbling over her words.

Remi smiled "I am well, it's been a long time since I have seen you."

"Oh yeah well um... busy with school and all.." her eyes noticed his outfit and holy hell did he look good. Looking like one of the guys from that show _"Sons of Anarchy"_ , he wore a leather jacket with faded back jeans and a black t-shirt like the last time he wore, barely containing all that muscle he had. His long blonde hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail that he pulled off so well.

"What brings you here?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"I heard it was good and that they had one of my favorite beers here on tap." his french accent was so delicious that Charlotte felt herself shiver from it, she nodded in attempts to overcome that amazing sensation.

His eyes then looked directly at her, the incredible blue that she had been thinking about this whole week countless times and they seemed to still have that same hunger for her as before. She swallowed that nervous lump in her throat, she hated how awkward she was around men.

"What brings you here Charlotte?" he said her name so softly "are you by yourself?"

 _Yes._ Her thoughts screamed "Uh no, I am with a friend but uh..he went to go take a call and hasn't been back yet."

Remi's eyes seemed to narrow as he turned his head to look at the door "Are you on a date?"

Charlotte blushed "well...kinda." she admitted honestly "dinner was going to be here soon."

Remi did not like the fact that she was on a date, the bear inside him snarled possessively at the very thought of her being with another man. He inhaled deeply to keep his cool in public and more importantly, with Charlotte. Last time he did not make a great impression of himself in front of her and he felt determined to change that.

"May I sit with you then until he gets back?" he forced himself to say, even though it was the very last thing he wanted to do.

"Oh yes, of course." she gestured to the seat across from her, he slowly slid himself into the seat and watched Charlotte as she sat down herself.

Remi couldn't help but admire her, he hated the word that he was going to describe her but she look so..adorable. With her black and floral dress and denim jacket, the dress compliment her figure nicely despite the modest length of the skirt, he could clearly visualize her long, strong legs. Her incredible silver hair was in a neat braid and her bright green eyes seemed enhanced by the light make up she wore. She gave him that sweet smile again but he could sense her nervousness, which made her all the more endearing to him.

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked "I haven't gotten anything yet but I think I may need one."

Remi smirked "I would like to have one with you."

Color bloomed in her cheeks "okay, I'll get you something since you got me my lunch the last time."

His brows raised in surprise "How did you know it was me?" he asked

Charlotte tossed him another one of her beautiful smiles "With some help I figured it out but... thank you, no one has really done that for me before."

Remi chuckled, "I would do it again." he could not believe the words that were coming out of his own mouth.

Charlotte nearly swooned in her seat, what kind of man was this guy? Certainly a ladies man because he certainly had a way of affecting her so. She clearly went on a limb, not fully knowing that it was Remi who bought her lunch that day but she surprised herself. Also feeling relieved that it was him and not having to suffer the embarrassment if it wasn't, she waved down the waitress to order their drinks. And of course, the waitress was all eyes on Remi, it was almost cartoonist with how the waitress looked at him, like she had heart eyes or something. But to Charlotte's utter astonishment, he was rather aloof with her in return. She had expected him to flirt back but...he didn't.

When the waitress left to get their drinks, Charlotte stared at Remi for a moment, she couldn't blame that poor girl, Remi was sex on two legs. Like some Greek god that decided to descend down and grace mortals with his presence.

"What?" he asked, his brow raised in interest.

"Oh nothing, I just.." she stopped when she heard her phone vibrate loudly, she picked it up to silence it only to notice it was a text from Keith.

 ** _Sorry, something came up and I had to leave. Could you cover me? I'll get you next time. :)_**

"Oh." Charlotte muttered out loud before she set the phone down. "I guess Keith wont be joining us.."

Suddenly a wave of emotion flooded her as tears began to form in her eyes, was it because of Keith? Charlotte didn't know but...she closed her eyes as she willed the tears away so she wouldn't cry in front of Remi.

"What happened?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"He had something come up I guess and just sent a text saying that he left." she sighed heavily, before she looked to Remi apologetically. "Sorry, I just...dates have never really been a fun thing for me that's all."

Remi leaned in closer, his expression soft and his eyes looked into hers, she suddenly felt a well of trust that she could tell him anything.

"How so?"

"Well um...never really had any good luck with men to be honest, dates usually never go anywhere and its always awkward. I dunno...maybe its me and I am the awkward one, which isn't far from the truth."

A small smile touched Remi's full lips, making him look a thousand times sexier than he already was. "why don't we change that."

His words caressed her ears and her face burned furiously with another blush. "Y-you're serious?" she asked nervously

"Yes." he assured "I know every inch of New Orleans and I am going to make sure that this is a night that you wont forget."

A rush of feeling overcame Charlotte and she smiled, practically beaming with her excitement. "I am all yours then."

Remi almost closed his eyes at those words, his mouth went dry with the thought. His inner bear growled happily at the thought, he had been preparing himself to convince Charlotte to ditch this guy and come with him but apparently whatever god was out there was feeling generous. It was almost as if...fate had planned this to happen. He wanted to scowl at the thought of the Fates but he didn't, not with Charlotte. Tonight...she was his and every inch of him loved it.


End file.
